E e hedges



E. E. HEDGES.

APPARATUS FOR msmums KEROGEN SHAL'E.

1,383,205. APPLICKTION FILED NOV 10, 1920' 28,

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WE h.

INV EN TOR.

tbmmat'. f/mans' A TTORNEY.

E. E. HEDGES. APPARATUS ron msnums KEROGEN SHALE.

mz pvrox #2296219 Patented June 28, 1921.

2 SHEE B's-SHEET 2.

APPLICATION FILED NOV 10, I920- [EM/P94.

BY I

ATTORNEY.

EDWARD E. HEDGES. OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

APPARATUS FOR DISTILLINGKEROGEN SHALE.

1,383,205, Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 10, 1920. Serial No. 423,078.

To all whom it may cor warn: densed, with the hydrorarhon liquids. which Be it known that l. EDWARD E. Hnoons, 3. requires settling to semratc.

citizen of the United States. iesiding at New In the drawings:

York, in the county of New York and State Figure l. a longitudinal diunirtriral of New York. have invented certain nev and tional view through the rotating! retort and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Disits actuating: means; h

tilling Kerogen Shale. of Which the follow- Fig; 2, is-an end view of the retort strur.

ing is a. specification, reference. hr-ing had turn from the end as indioated'lw arrow therein to the aoi'ompanying drawings. at Fig. 1;

This invention relates to apparatus for Fig. 3 is'a sectional view on line 3- 5 of distilling kerogrcn shale. and other bitumi- Fig. 1, through one of the spirals huh. at nous materials, and has for an object to one end. is a feed and at the opposite end a provide an apparatus which will conduct discharge, the spirals lacing .siihstan iallv continuous distillation of such kerogen shale identical and and produce therefrom hydrocarbon oils 'Fig. 4 is a sectional view lrzlwn on lion substantially similar and equivalent to the 44 of Fig. l. crude petroleurns from wells. with a dekcrg- Like characters of reference ilnlim e ror genized shale availahle and adapted for a responding parts throughout the several base fonpementsof the gencrahtypeltnoitui viewsas Portland cement. The apparatus, which forms tho suhjert A further object of the invention is to matter ofthe present invention. roniprism a provide an apparatus for "increasing the drum l0. mofinted to rotate in auv usual and volumetric out ut of the lighter oils. as comordinary manner. as for instance. upon the pared to the mere distillation of the oleagi idlers 11. which are. in fhrn. journalcd upon nous content found r'esident in the shale as; blocks 12 capable of being raised audiosmined. ered in any ap oved manner. convention- A further object of the invention is to ally shown by t e jack-screw 13. so that the rovide an improved apparatus For employ drum 10 may be operated at any inclination mg super-heated steam for romrningliug found desirable. the inclination. of course. with and rea ting upon the oleaginous condetermining the rate of passage of the n12. tent. I teriul through the drum. At one end the In the dry destructive distillation of the drum is provided with a gear 1.4 llll tIQBIII kerogen shales it has been found that certain ing with a gear-.15, driven in any' apprm'ed fixed gases pass over and carry therewith ummer. as by the motor 16. The motor 16 a certain recoverable percentage of the light is mounted upon a base 1?, which. in turn. hydrocarbon oils, generally.rcferred to as is mounted upon a hall and socket joint l gasolene. ln the dry distillation the'amouht married upon a foot 19. permitti g: the tilt of gasolene so carried ovmand recoverable mg: (If tilt. drum by ineansuof the elm/sting runs four or five gallons per ton of shahapparatus 13. to any inclination desired. rewhereasin employing the present apparatus, tainingg at all times the proper alinernsut be from eight to twelve gallons per ton are tween the gears H and 15. The has Talso produced and recoverable. It is believed provides a journal 20 for the hollow trunthat this additional production of the light nion 21 and contains a water jacket or hydrocarbon oils is due to the liberation of which tlle'bearin of the trunnion is main the molecules of otherwise heavy oil by the tained in a cooled condition. addition thereto of hydrogen atoms from the The drum 10 is lined with heat lll lllnliil g aqueous vapor. material. shown at 23. and within my}; lu-at The apparatus comprises a rotating retort insulation material the kerogen Sllflll is whereby a. continuous proce s is possible. the roasted. The drum is preferably heatml lay kerogen shale cntcring in its natural condi' some form of electric heater. form herc tion at one end of the retort and discharging shown consisting of a helical hand I.=$. rondekerogenizcrl at the oppoitc end. the hynected at one end to the insulated ring 25. drocarhons passing orcr iu the form of and at its opposite end to the lllSHlBtlWl ring Vapor. 26. Contacts of any 2 \PIOWEll type. as the The aqueous content is, of course ron rolling contacts 27 and 28 make electrical Patented June 53 192 connections with these contact rings 25 and 26. whereby the bands 21 are heated to incandescence. or to such degree of heat as may be required within the drum. The showing of the heating element as a spiral or helical band is not intended to limit the. form of electrical heating element. and it is obvious that any usual or ordinary form of resistance element, connected with the contact rings. in any usual and ordinary manner, will be within the luiowledge of one skilled in the electrical art.

At the opposite ends. the drum is provided with worms. one of which. 29. is a feed worm. This is connected at its central chamber 31] withl a feed chute 31. fed from the hopper 352. The shale is introduced from the hopper 92 through the chute 31 into the central chamber il and by reason of the rotation of the drum. the shale is carried through the spiral passage 33 (See Fig. 3) and is discharged at 34 into the periphery of the drum. The continuous feeding of the shale through the chute 251 into the central chamber nd through the spiral passage 33 forms a seal to prevent the escape of liberated gases which pass outwardly through the pipe 35 to any receptacle. from which the volatilized hydromirhons. and other content of the shales. are treated in such manner as to recover the values therefrom.

At the opposite end. the worm 36 is built similar to the worm 29 but rotates relatively, in the opposite direction. actually rotating, of course. synchronously with the Worm 29 and the drum 10. The worm 313 is the discharge worm having an entrance at. 37 and discharging into the central chamber 38. which communicates with the hollow trunnion 21, discharging therefrom the spent shale. A pipe 39 extends axially through the hollow trunnion 21 and into the drum, and steam from the generator 40 is introduced through such pipe 39 into the drum 10. which. reacting upon the contents. brings about results not otherwise obtainable.

In operation. the drum adjusted to the proper inclination by the manipulation of the elevating device 13. is fed with shale through the chute 31 and the spiral feeder as hereinbefore described. The electric current passing through the resistance coil 24 maintains the coil in incandescent. or heated. condition. The shale is nonwonductive and insulation of the resistance coil from such contents is not necessary so that the shale may come in direct contact with the resistance coil. In practice it is found d s rable to maintain a heat within the drum of from 600 to 750 degrees l ahrenhcit. This results in the destructive distillation of the shale. At the same time. however. steam. .lt boiler temperature. is introduced from the gene 'ator it]. but. upon being introduced into the chamber heated to from out! to 730 degrees, is superheated and in such condition attacks the shale which is being agitated by the rotation of the drum. The combination of the heat from the element and the superheated steam acting upon the shale and pyrites liberates the hydrocarbon element, ammonia and sulfur.

The substances released. by volatilization. therefore contain the hydrocarbons, the molecules ofsome of which have been increased in hydrogen valence. the ammonia and some unchanged aqueous vapor which pass outwardly through the pipe 35 and are fractionated 1n any usual and ordinary manner.

The dekerogenized shales. discharged through the hollow trunnion 21. are found to be rich in oxygen which form an ideal base for combination with calcium. to produce cements of the general type known as Portland cements. The by-priulucts are therefore, the non-condensable gases produced in such quantity as to supply the mo tive power for generating the electricity for heating the retort and a great volume in excess. ammonia and the spent shale forming the ideal base for Portland cements. The crude oil is. of course. productive of all f the by-products usually recoverable from crude oils and perhaps others.

The apparatus above described. while ideal for the distillation of kerogen shales.

is equally effective in the distillation of oil shales and other bituminous material. and the use of the term kerogen shale is not to be considered as any limitation upon the apparatus in the treating of shales of any nature which carry hydrocarbons in any form. or of any form or compound. or combination.

What I claim to be new is:

1. A distilling apparatus comprising an inclined rotating retort, means to introduce material into the retort at the axis. and a volute feeding conduit within the retort receiving the material at the axis and discharging it at the periphery.

2. A distilling apparatus comprising an inclined rotating retort, means to introduce material into the retort at the axis, and a volute feeding conduit within the retort 1"- oeiving the material at the axis and discharging it at the periphery and having a plurality of convolutions about the axis between its extremities.

3. A distilling apparatus comprising an inclined rotating retort. means to introduce material into the retort at the axis. a. volute feeding conduit within. the retort receiving the material at the axis and discharging it at the periphery, and a volute discharge conduit within the retort moving in unison with the feeding conduit, receiving material at the. periphery and discharging it through an axial orifice.

4. A distilling apparatus comprising an inclined rotating retort, means to introduce material into the retort a the axis, a volute feeding conduit Within the retort receiving material at the axis and discharging it at the periphery, and a volute discharge conduit Within the retort co-axial and moving in unison with the feeding conduit receiving material at the periphery and discharging it through an axial orifice.

5. A distilling apparatus comprising an inclined rotating retort, means to introduce material into the retort at the axis, a volute feeding conduit Within the retort receiving the material at the axis and dischar ing it at the periphery and having a plura ity of convolutions about the axis between its extremities, and a volute discharge conduit within the retort moving in axial unity with the feeding conduit receiving material at the periphery and discharging it throu h an axial orifice and having a plurality 0 convolutions between its extremities. i

6. A distilling apparatus comprising an inclined rotating retort, a volute feeding conduit Within the retort receiving material at the axis and discharging it at the periphcry, a volute discharge conduit Within the retort moving in axial unison with the feeding conduit receiving material at the periphery and discharging it through an axial orifice, a steam inlet pipe coinciding with the discharge orifice, and a distillate conduit 00- inciding with the axis at the feeding end.

7. A distilling apparatus comprising an inclined rotating retort, a volute feeding conduit within the retort receiving material at the axis and discharging it at the periphery, a volute discharge conduit Within the retort moving in axial unity with the feeding conduit receiving material at the periphery and discharging it through an axial orifice, and a heating element contained within the retort chamber and disposed between the feeding and discharge conduits.

8. A distilling apparatus comprising an inclined rotating retort. a volute feeding conduit receiving material at the axis and discharging it at the periphery, a volute dischar econduit moving in axial unity with the fee ing'conduit and receivin material at the periphery and discharging it through an axial orifice, a heating element contained wholly Within the retort chamber and between the feeding and discharging conduits, a steam inlet pipe coinciding with the discharge orifice and a distillate conduit coinciding with the axis at the feeding end.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature.

EDWARD E. HEDGES. 

